This is the night when Bruce flipped out on Jerry, just after the first set. Jerry must have taken it to heart, because the second set is impressive. You can hear Bruce "banging" away throughout the show. Interesting historical note.

From Garcia: An American Life by Blair Jackson

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Garcia's playing on the first part of the Dead's September Northeast tour was much more erratic than it had been during the summer; an indication to those close to him that the methadone regimen didn't stick. Bruce Hornsby notes, "Truthfully, I didn't really notice Jerry having problems until the fall of '91. Or maybe I noticed it, but it didn't start pissing me off until the fall."

He continues, "I remember we played nine nights at Madison Square Garden and I thought except for a couple of really great nights, to me it was really a dogshit run. Garcia was in this place I couldn't understand. He was starting to get to that place a lot in the last two or three years when I'd watch them -- he'd put his head straight down and look at the floor the whole time; hunch over and not communicate with anyone. And that wasn't like him, at least as far as I was concerned. We'd always had a lot of eye contact and interpaly, really a lot of good feelings onstage. But it wasn't just that. He sort of wasn't listening and starting to run roughshod over people's solos -- certainly mine -- and I thought at times the music just seemed strangely lifeless. I asked Bobby about it and he explained it to me. I'd heard about it, but had never experienced it firsthand. There were nights when I wanted to push the eject button. What I would have done in my band is try to play in a different way that maybe would have jacked everybody up, tried to take a little more charge of the thing. But in this band I didn't feel it was my place. So I was caught. I felt, 'Damn, this music is not happening; the music is not going anywhere.'

"Then we got to Boston Garden and I was pretty bummed. We played this first set and it wasn't happening again, so I just said, 'Oh fuck it!' and I started playing this stuff that was very unmusical. I was playing hard and pounding and basically driving it up their ass. And sure enough, the gig got jacked up. There was a lot of energy in the set and it was a pretty good set. But I thought I was playing like crap. I was playing in a way I didn't want to play.

"At the end of the set I went into Garcia's tent and he says, 'Man, I love the way you're playing tonight!' And I said, 'Garcia, I'm playing bullshit tonight. I'm playing crap, but it's all I can do because there's nothin' happening here and I really resent your coming to this gig and not putting anything into it,' or words to that effect. And he said 'Well, man, you don't understand twenty-five years of burnout!'"

There's the Branford night at MSG, the closer of this BG tour with its cool second set, but really this show stands up with some of the stronger summer tour 91' shows. Just outstanding.

Look at the first set, BTW, Stagger (an exceedingly awesome version via some killer Hornsbyin'), Masterpiece, 15 minute Bird Song. Strong First no doubt.

Obviously the one-time-ever Help>Slip>Fire combo is cool and very well played. There's really no room to "transition" Slip to Fire so they just cue it up perfect. I feel that many of the best H>S>F's in terms of cleanness and quality jamming is from 91'. Something about Bruce/Vince fullness really brings the "revived" H>S>F to its true potential. This strange combo really does work out. The Fire has some flawless extensive jamming that makes the show worth the download for alone.

Too bad about that cut in drums but it really doesn't detract from this killer show in the slightest.

The Dew is naturally a show-stopping version. Gotta miss those Brent B3 powerhouse days, but this one stands up.

Clean transfer. Great performance.

What a show to start off the BG Run with. When the band seems to recount remembering this tour/time it seems to be wrought with memories of Garcia's slip back into "use", but I think of it as the truly last show-for-show "great" run. Before Bill Graham's untimely accident and the really lame 1992 Grateful Dead decline. Anyways... Killer Show!

Great show, and... methinks this is the best copy available.

I don't normally like Scarlet and Fire alienated from another... same with Help and Franklin's; but this works!